Danbury Library Blog

Our recent economic turmoil has put me in mind of prior economic woes in history. One of the worst occurences was the South Sea Bubble of 1720 in England. It has many disturbing analogies to what is happening today. The South Sea Company was founded in 1711 and was granted exclusive trading rights in Spanish South America. Ostensibly a trading company its real main purpose was the funding of the English government debt. The company's stock price took off in a trading frenzy. The price went in the course of one year from 100 pounds to 1,000 pounds and people from all walks of life were frantic to buy the shares. In August of 1720 the price started to fall which created bankruptcies and increased short selling-selling borrowed shares in the hope of buying them back at a profit if the price fell. There were bank failures and thousands of individuals were ruined and there was a parliamentary investigation into government fraud and corruption in the Cabinet. Among the individuals who lost a fortune was Sir Isaac Newton who lost 20,000 pounds which was an enormous sum for that time.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 09:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Instead of a Thanksgiving-related entry today, I thought I'd mention that November 25, 1992 was the release date of the Disney Studio's animated version of Aladdin. Following The LIttle Mermaid in 1989 and Beauty and the Beast in 1991, it was the third release in the studio's wildly successful revival of the animated feature film, which Walt Disney had pioneered with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. Its score by Alan Menken and the song "A Whole New World" by Menken and Tim Rice each won an Oscar, and it also included the studio's most extensive use to-date of computer animation in the character of Aladdin's magic flying carpet. But most memorable was Robin Williams as the Genie. His rapid-fire ad-libs were generally unscripted, and the Disney animators changed Genie's shape-shifting body rapidly enough to match the pace of Williams' frantic, hilarious performance, which included imitations of, among others, William F. Buckley, Ed Sullivan and Elvis. It remains an animated film that adults can enjoy as much as children, (and I guess I couldn't avoid it) perfect for watching after Thanksgiving dinner. The entire library staff wishes you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by Mark at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last weekend, I took a quick trip to California to visit some friends. I decided to take a red-eye flight to make the most of the short time that I had, and boy, am I lucky I chose that flight! After passing through security at the Los Angeles International Airport, I sat down off to the side to put my shoes on and re-organize my belongings. As I was fussing with my own shoes, I noticed a pair of shoeless feet sitting down next to me. Now, generally, I'm completely oblivious to people, and rarely actually look at people's faces. However, I happened to be intrigued by the shoes that were being put on next to me, and wanted to see who the owner was - and it turned out to be Keanu Reeves. After a triple take, a moment or two of bewilderment, and some attempts at breathing normally, I mustered up the courage to say, "Hi!" To which he responded, "hi." (Oh, glorious day!) I did manage to squeak out a brief conversation with him, and I asked him if I could have a picture, to which he so kindly and graciously agreed. At the end, I shook his hand and said "I'm Merry," and he smiles, nods and answers "Keanu." Just in case I wasn't sure. We parted ways, but I saw him again as I passed him on the plane (and he smiled at me!), and a final time as he was waiting for his luggage down at JFK Airport.

It's always quite a thrill to see famous stars in person, and an even bigger delight to meet them, and when they are down-to-earth and nice. I'm curious to know now though, have you met any stars? Who were they, and were they just as you expected in person? Keanu, for me, of course, was every bit of incredibly gorgeous as one would expect, and the friendly factor was the icing on my meeting.

Posted by Merry at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

To assist you in your job hunt the library has some great tools such as The Connecticut Business Directory, an online database which alllows you--for instance-- to create a list of certain types of companies within a geographic area. If you wanted a list of all the salons in Fairfield County--we can create that list. Stop by the 'Ask Me" Desk for assistance with this directory.

WinWay Resume, available on adult computers, is a time-saving, resume program--you just plug in your information--the formatting is done for you. It's almost painless!

We also have resume and career books and through our website a handy link to pertinent job sites.

Posted by Mary at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In doing my family genealogy research I have come across one of my mother's uncles who served in World War One. His name was Oscar Grahl and he lived in Brooklyn, New York. He and his family are listed in the 1900 Census in New York. He was born in September of 1893. I was able to obtain a short military record for him from the New York State Archives (at the bargain rate of $1.00). This record indicated that he was inducted on August 5, 1918 and was shipped to two military camps before going overseas. One of these was Camp Greene in North Carolina. He arrived overseas on NOVEMBER 10, 1918 and served there until October 20, 1919. He is buried in Long Island National Cemetery.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As we honor all of the U.S. armed forces veterans who served in our nation's wars throughout our history, a brief history of the holiday seems in order. Because the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I took place at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, Veterans Day (and the government has declared that the attributive case, without an apostrophe, rather than the possessive case is the official spelling) is observed on November 11. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day in 1919, and Congress passed an act in 1938 creating the legal holiday, "a day dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day.'" In 1953, a Kansas shoe store owner, Al King, thought that Armistice Day should be expanded to celebrate all veterans and began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into "All" Veterans Day. President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill in May 1954 for the revised holiday, and its name was officially changed by Congress from Armistice Day to Veterans Day in November 1954.

Posted by Mark at 06:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)